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| Old Royal Yacht club, Mumbai, past-india.com |
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| Old Royal Yacht club, Mumbai, dissolve.com |
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| The old yacht club,Mumbai, MH thinkingthefuture.com |
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| Old Yacht club, Mumbai, MH hinkingthefuture.com |
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| interior The old yacht club, thinkingthefuture.com |
The club was housed in a well designed building and the architect was renowned John Adams, who also contributed to landmarks such as the Mumbai Gymkhana and local police courts. The building embodies a captivating fusion of Indo-Gothic architecture and elegant Victorian interiors. Quite impressive are the stone cladding on the exterior, mixed roof style - sloping roof and conical pointed roofs at the edges of the building, The exterior cladding and the varied roof design styles, no doubt, accentuate the look of the structure.
Built near the bustling coastline, the club offers breathtaking views of the Gateway of India (opened in 1911 for King George and his wife who landed in India there on their way to Delhi to attend the Delhi Durbar)). Further, many architecturally beautiful and celebrated structures are near by such as the Taj Hotel, Maharashtra Police Headquarters, and the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Vastu Sangrahalaya etc.
Over the years, the club has adapted to the changing landscape of Mumbai: it now serves as the headquarters for the Department of Atomic Energy of the Government of India and briefly hosted the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in 1949. Today, the club continues to flourish, offering a range of amenities such as sailing on the Arabian Sea, an extensive library, a well-appointed club shop, a bar, a lounge, sumptuous ballrooms, residential chambers with panoramic views, and a fine restaurant.
The building’s design features a rich material palette that includes durable Mangalore tiles, refined woodwork, and meticulously crafted plaster adding Victorian flavor to the interior. Intricate stained glass windows and pointed arches add to its distinctive Gothic charm of the old yacht club. As for the corridors and interiors, one can see the retention of Gothic style as revealed by pointed arches set against high ceilings.
Under the Crown administration, London, during the mid-19th century, many sites in Bombay adopted Gothic style, of course alien to the Indian natives. Rich Indians started building the sites in Gothic style and later the Indo-Saracenic style was adopted which included elements like chhatris, jaalis, domes etc carefully blended with gothic features like split facades, multi-colored stained glasses, etchings, and engravings in the façade, pointed arches etc. They were made using a mixture of Indian and foreign material palette.
Significant expansions were made in 1881 with the addition of a seafront clubhouse, and in 1896 a second clubhouse—rendered in Venetian Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles—was built to accommodate the growing membership.
Despite facing structural challenges, including a partial demolition in 1976, the club underwent careful restoration by Architect Vikas Dilwari in 2012, followed by further enhancements by Somaya and Kalappa architects. Apart from not compromising on the heritage aspect the architects paid serious attention to the strengthening the original structure.
Their proper planning and dedicated efforts not only preserved the club’s heritage and the past glory, but also earned it recognition at the 2013 UNESCO Asia-Pacific Heritage Awards. Today, the Old Yacht Club stands as a cherished monument, bridging Mumbai’s colonial past with its vibrant modern identity. In the shadow of the heritage monument, one can see the toil of the modern architects who have given the site a new lease of life. This post is based on:
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